Thousands of supporters poured into the streets of the capital island Male on Friday night and continued their protest rally till early Saturday, the joint opposition said in a statement issued in Colombo.

State television showed huge crowds of black-clad supporters gathering in the capital Tehran, second city Mashhad and elsewhere to mark the anniversary of the end of "the sedition" -- the last major unrest that followed disputed elections in 2009.

Hundreds took to the streets of Mashhad, a site of holy pilgrimage in the northeast of the country, on Thursday with slogans mostly directed at President Hassan Rouhani's government for failing to tackle a range of economic problems.

Eritrea is one of the world's most repressive countries and demonstrations are uncommon, but the embassy had on Tuesday issued a statement about "gunfire at several locations in Asmara due to protests".